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Ain't I A Woman? newspapers, June 1970-July 1971

1971-02-19 "Ain't I a Woman?" Page 12

[a four panel comic of a young short haired woman elbowing an elderly man in the face because he has his hand resting on her knee, they are sitting on a bus/train. The comic has text under it that reads...] 

“A basic principle of self defense if to use your strength against your attacker’s weakness. Elbows are strong -- facial bones and windpipes are weak. If someone bothers you in a car or theater or train, hit them with your elbow: clasp your hands together at your chest placing one fist inside the other cupped hand -- like a ball and socket. Don’t fold your hands, because they will slip apart upon impact and lessen the force of the blow. Twist your body away from the attacker to gain momentum, but always keep him in your sight. Then using the strong muscles in your torso and back, twist your weight toward him, and at the end of the arc snap your elbow into his face with the muscles in your arm.”

Open Letter To Our Indochinese Sisters 
January 13, 1971
To Our Indochinese Sisters -- Greetings,
We are pleased and excited to learn of your desire to meet with women from the Women’s Liberation movement in North America. But we are saddened to find out that the conferences that have been organized do not comply with your wishes to meet with women from the Women’s Liberation so as to better understand the Women’s movement in North America. The way the conferences are being planned reveals that they will neither represent the women nor the ideas of the independent Women’s Liberation movement. In an effort to communicate out concerns over this situation with you we are sending you a copy of “Fourth World Manifesto”. The “Manifesto” explains why we feel the projected conferences do not comply with your desires to meet with a representative group of women from the Women’s Liberation movement in North America. We are also trying to circulate this “Manifesto” to women in the independent Women’s Liberation movement here urging them to attend the conferences. We hope that in this way a truer representation of the Women’s Liberation movement will be able to meet with you. We look forward to meeting with you and sharing information and feelings about our common oppression as women. -- With Love and Warm Wishes for Success, From some women in the Women’s Liberation Movement: Barbara Burris, Kathy Barry, Joann Parent, Terry Moon, Joann DeLor, Cate Stadelman

NICE GUYS?
This scene sort of started me into writing: while I was visiting this sister, and we were working out some things, exchanging information, getting it together -- her husband came in from classes. He’s a gentle, friendly freak, and he looked happy, energetic. I had to use the phone (anyway) so I turned around to it as he sat down behind her and held her, nuzzling; she seemed still absorbed in thinking. On the wall to their left is a poster: a young man sitting on a rock, captioned: “Trying to Understand.” I thought how this sister is really strong and independent. I know she’ll leave him. I know he won’t be able to understand. Right then I flashed “I feel sorry for him, but there’s no way.” / The “Exceptional” Male / That they are exceptions if they’re non-sexist, gentle, passive (no, that’s allowed) and don’t need the ego boost of being supremacists. There are models -- represented by straight culture (even gay?) Jesus, Ghandi, and movie “sensitive” guys. It’s a choice for a man to be gentle, a choice that women don’t have. There’s a low of reward at this point for an exceptional dude -- all those turned off  women! -- and being a model of post-revolutionary behavior -- admiration and trust of women and men who are struggling and gay dudes. “Even a mother could love him” and people who put down his gentleness are those he doesn’t respect anyway. Seems he has a plethora of options! He can take the pigshit options and get away with some of them, once maybe. Like mine -- desertion. Or scaring a woman by sudden reversal to pigshit behavior -- her immediate reaction -- “This is not like you”, “something is wrong -- maybe me” etc./ Women can feel sorry for a dude and hang on and he doesn’t have to be much besides pitiful -- exceptionals get this sometimes, real bastards also can get a woman’s help for being helpless./ Class: middle class males have more choices/ can be aggressive = reward/ = destruction/ = inhibition by “society”/ or passive = dropout/ = low but stable position/ = catatonia, incarceration/ But lower class males are less rewarded, have less choice/ aggressive = upward social mobility/ = destruction, street fights, jail/ The line is thin./ passive = skid row, alcoholism/ = junk, forces some aggressive behavior/  No one is going to “take care of the passive lower class male except pitying females who’ll feed his habit. Being a nice guy isn’t enough. To be revolutionary means doing something more than not-doing. A nice guy who only refuses his prerogative to oppress females isn’t doing any more than a catatonic male who also actively doesn’t oppress women. Men can subvert their privileges. Are pre-revolutionary heterosexual scenes possible outside of the structures now available? -- marriage is oppressive, “going steady” is oppressive, commune scenes, prostitution, living together. He is kind but he doesn’t suffer like a woman does and he doesn’t really know these pains. Could he stand to be your lover and yet not be the most important person in your life? 

12 Volume 1 No. 12
Ain't I?

Saving...

[a four panel comic of a young short haired woman elbowing an elderly man in the face because he has his hand resting on her knee, they are sitting on a bus/train. The comic has text under it that reads...] “A basic principle of self defense if to use your strength against your attacker’s weakness. Elbows are strong -- facial bones and windpipes are weak. If someone bothers you in a car or theater or train, hit them with your elbow: clasp your hands together at your chest placing one fist inside the other cupped hand -- like a ball and socket. Don’t fold your hands, because they will slip apart upon impact and lessen the force of the blow. Twist your body away from the attacker to gain momentum, but always keep him in your sight. Then using the strong muscles in your torso and back, twist your weight toward him, and at the end of the arc snap your elbow into his face with the muscles in your arm.” Open Letter To Our Indochinese Sisters January 13, 1971 To Our Indochinese Sisters -- Greetings, We are pleased and excited to learn of your desire to meet with women from the Women’s Liberation movement in North America. But we are saddened to find out that the conferences that have been organized do not comply with your wishes to meet with women from the Women’s Liberation so as to better understand the Women’s movement in North America. The way the conferences are being planned reveals that they will neither represent the women nor the ideas of the independent Women’s Liberation movement. In an effort to communicate out concerns over this situation with you we are sending you a copy of “Fourth World Manifesto”. The “Manifesto” explains why we feel the projected conferences do not comply with your desires to meet with a representative group of women from the Women’s Liberation movement in North America. We are also trying to circulate this “Manifesto” to women in the independent Women’s Liberation movement here urging them to attend the conferences. We hope that in this way a truer representation of the Women’s Liberation movement will be able to meet with you. We look forward to meeting with you and sharing information and feelings about our common oppression as women. -- With Love and Warm Wishes for Success, From some women in the Women’s Liberation Movement: Barbara Burris, Kathy Barry, Joann Parent, Terry Moon, Joann DeLor, Cate Stadelman NICE GUYS? This scene sort of started me into writing: while I was visiting this sister, and we were working out some things, exchanging information, getting it together -- her husband came in from classes. He’s a gentle, friendly freak, and he looked happy, energetic. I had to use the phone (anyway) so I turned around to it as he sat down behind her and held her, nuzzling; she seemed still absorbed in thinking. On the wall to their left is a poster: a young man sitting on a rock, captioned: “Trying to Understand.” I thought how this sister is really strong and independent. I know she’ll leave him. I know he won’t be able to understand. Right then I flashed “I feel sorry for him, but there’s no way.” / The “Exceptional” Male / That they are exceptions if they’re non-sexist, gentle, passive (no, that’s allowed) and don’t need the ego boost of being supremacists. There are models -- represented by straight culture (even gay?) Jesus, Ghandi, and movie “sensitive” guys. It’s a choice for a man to be gentle, a choice that women don’t have. There’s a low of reward at this point for an exceptional dude -- all those turned off women! -- and being a model of post-revolutionary behavior -- admiration and trust of women and men who are struggling and gay dudes. “Even a mother could love him” and people who put down his gentleness are those he doesn’t respect anyway. Seems he has a plethora of options! He can take the pigshit options and get away with some of them, once maybe. Like mine -- desertion. Or scaring a woman by sudden reversal to pigshit behavior -- her immediate reaction -- “This is not like you”, “something is wrong -- maybe me” etc./ Women can feel sorry for a dude and hang on and he doesn’t have to be much besides pitiful -- exceptionals get this sometimes, real bastards also can get a woman’s help for being helpless./ Class: middle class males have more choices/ can be aggressive = reward/ = destruction/ = inhibition by “society”/ or passive = dropout/ = low but stable position/ = catatonia, incarceration/ But lower class males are less rewarded, have less choice/ aggressive = upward social mobility/ = destruction, street fights, jail/ The line is thin./ passive = skid row, alcoholism/ = junk, forces some aggressive behavior/ No one is going to “take care of the passive lower class male except pitying females who’ll feed his habit. Being a nice guy isn’t enough. To be revolutionary means doing something more than not-doing. A nice guy who only refuses his prerogative to oppress females isn’t doing any more than a catatonic male who also actively doesn’t oppress women. Men can subvert their privileges. Are pre-revolutionary heterosexual scenes possible outside of the structures now available? -- marriage is oppressive, “going steady” is oppressive, commune scenes, prostitution, living together. He is kind but he doesn’t suffer like a woman does and he doesn’t really know these pains. Could he stand to be your lover and yet not be the most important person in your life? 12 Volume 1 No. 12 Ain't I?